


The Serial Position Effect

by joonohon



Series: Ereri Canonverse Week 2015 [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Day 1: First Impressions, Ereri Canonverse Week, Ereri Canonverse Week 2015, Ereri Week, First Impressions, M/M, Queerplatonic Relationships, canonverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-07
Updated: 2015-09-07
Packaged: 2018-04-19 15:45:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4751936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joonohon/pseuds/joonohon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(n.) the tendency of a person to recall the first and last items in a series best, and the middle items worst.</p>
<p>Or, how Levi's earliest and most recent impressions of Eren were radically different, but he remembers them all nonetheless.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Serial Position Effect

**Author's Note:**

> Queerplatonic (Adjective) - describing a relationship which is more intense and intimate than is considered common or normal for a "friendship", but doesn't fit the traditional sexual-romantic couple model.

Everybody, despite their own personal opinions, could say the same of Eren; he was a force to be reckoned with. He wasn't the most skilled, and he definitely wasn't the most graceful, but he was an eternal flame. 

When Levi first saw him up close, only one word came to mind.

Feral.

Eren was the poster boy for teenage angst. He was what playwrights and sideshow singers yearned for in a tale; a young boy from humble beginnings, forced to grow up too fast by becoming the thing he hates the most. He was on the path to success, with a chance at a decent occupation at the hands of his father, only to be thrust into the wild and left to fend for himself among the beasts.

Eren was a savage, and Levi had never particularly liked animals.

They were ruthless, much like himself. Animals were different, though. They were eating and killing machines, with only instincts and the environment to govern them. They had no sense of morals or values, and no amount of training could fully tame the brute inside of them.

In other words, Eren was dangerous. 

And Levi was intent on keeping the beast under control.

\--

A bumbling child.

An actual five year old, tripping over his own feet and stuttering every time Levi so much as turned in his direction. 

That's what Eren was, at the moment. 

The supposed biggest threat and hope to humanity itself was on all fours, water and soap bubbles sloshing with every pass of the bristled brush on the hardwood floor. His eyes gleamed something fierce, determination sparkling in them even when assigned the simple task of cleaning various rooms throughout the castle. 

He was a soldier, both man and beast, who tore Titans apart limb from limb and had the power to kill them all. Levi remembers seeing him fresh out of his Titan form in Trost, tendons and muscle gripping him like a harness. His delirious state did nothing to hide the admiration in his eyes, as the remnants of his former body festered and evaporated around him. He was an animal. A savage. 

But for right now, he was a child, spilling the bucket of soapy water when Levi barked an order of 'Do it again, Jaeger.', and stammering an apology to his Captain's retreating form. 

\--

A monster. 

Levi's eyes widened, heartbeat quickening as he witnessed Eren... No. The Titan. As the Titan pinned Leonhardt to the ground, roaring menacingly onto her back. Saliva and hot air burst forth from its mouth, evaporating into steam when it struck the Female's body. Flames engulfed their forms, heat radiating from them not unlike Eren's rage.

This wasn't the Eren that Levi knew.

This was someone, something, entirely different. 

Several gasps could be heard as Eren lowered his head, teeth separating and gripping flesh between them, ripping it from the nape of her neck with a turn of his head. And Annie was revealed.

There was a lull, and for just a second, Levi saw a flash of the subordinate he had come to respect in the monster's eyes. For a second, he saw the real Eren. The one that he was content to stride into battle beside. The one who had promised to never leave his side.

And as Arlert cut him out of the Titan, Levi realized that he has never reciprocated that oath.

With the way that blood gushed and spurted from what was Eren's body, Levi was afraid the boy wouldn't make it long enough for that promise to be returned.

He didn't want his last memory of Eren to be of the monster decomposing on the ground.

Because he was so much more than that.

\--

A stray. 

The way Eren was behaving reminded Levi too much of himself. He had changed ever since the Reiss encounter in the cavern. His eyes were dull, his face forlorn, and his body sagging with every seat he took, as if the weight of the world was pressing down on his whole being.

Levi didn't like it.

Eren's usually excited and buzzing demeanor was subdued, and no amount of pleading looks or whispered 'Are you alright?'s changed it. Every pat on the shoulder was brushed off, and soft embraces were returned half heartedly.

Levi knew that he would have to wait it out, and let Eren come to him.

Eventually, his patience paid off in the dead of night. 

He was in the limbo between awake and not, on his back with arms and legs spread out across the mattress. The sounds of the night served as a lullaby, wind and rustling trees harmonizing with the chirp of crickets and frogs. 

He was sure that he had imagined the knocking on the door, but when it came again a few minutes later, he sat up slowly and stared at the wood. Shuffling came from the other side, and he muttered a hushed "Come in."

The hinges creaked as Eren was revealed, and he stepped into the room slowly. Levi stayed silent, watching as Eren approached and took of his boots, eventually sitting on the edge of the bed. It was quiet for a few moments, until Eren looked up and Levi saw the tears brimming in his beautiful eyes. 

Levi wrapped an arm around his shoulders, embracing him when Eren fisted his shirt and hid in the junction between his neck and shoulder. 

The music from outside was interrupted for now, a stream of whimpers and sobs making themselves known. Eren's insecurity pervaded through the room, the song of a lost soul ringing in Levi's ears. 

Eren was nothing more than a stray; a being with a purpose that was proven a farce, and thrown into the street without another to replace it. He was broken, and his fear caused a tremble in his body. Levi's heart was breaking as he held Eren against him.

He was just like Levi, in the end. 

How could anyone ever see this boy, this child, as anything other than that? How could they see him as a monster? He was too pure of a soul, even with all of the blood and tears staining it. He was too good to be abandoned without a second glance.

Levi never wanted to see Eren like this again. 

He brought a hand to the others' hair, smoothing his fingers over chocolate locks gently. Eren's breath hitched, and he rose his head to look into Levi's eyes. Levi slid his hand underneath his jaw, cupping red cheeks and running his thumb over a cheekbone. Blood rose under tan skin, and green eyes fluttered shut, long lashes resting on eye bags daintily. A sigh landed on Levi's chin, and he craned his neck forward to lay his cheek on Eren's. They stayed there for a bit, focusing on each other's breathing and heartbeats. Eventually, Eren calmed down, deep inhales replacing the heavy sobs from before.

Levi turned towards Eren's ear, whispering "I'll never abandon you. That's a promise."

And he could feel Eren's gratitude as they lay together, tangled atop the sheets.

\--

The sun was almost as blinding as Eren's smile. 

Levi gave a smile of his own, Eren's hand in his as they turned to the water. The breeze was salty, and the waves lapped at their bare feet while birds clawed above. 

Eren was more than a fellow soldier to him, Levi was sure of that now. He wasn't a monster, and he wasn't a man. If anything, he was an animal. Levi had learned to appreciate them.

Eren was a dog, a former stray given a second chance at happiness. But he was much more than a pet. He was a companion.

Man's best friend.

And Levi was intent on keeping his best friend by his side for as long as he could.

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to make Eren and Levi's relationship a queerplatonic one instead of a romantic or sexual one, because I see them as aro ace in canon because of reasons. This whole week is going to be full of queerplatonic goodness!


End file.
